Depression and Everyday Social Activity, Belonging, and Well-being Depression and Social Dysfunction

Dysfunctional social behavior has been implicated in the experience of depression. People with greater depressive symptoms report more frequent negative social interactions and react more strongly to them. It remains unknown, however, whether reaction strength differs depending on whether social interactions are positive or negative. Drawing on socio-evolutionary models of depression (N. B. Allen & P. B. T. Badcock, 2003), we proposed that people with greater depressive symptoms should not only react more strongly to negative social interactions but also to positive social interactions and a sense of belonging. Using non-clinical samples, two daily process studies examined the role of depression in people's reactivity to social interactions in natural, ongoing, social contexts. In Study 1, the number of positive and negative social events showed a stronger relation to well-being among people with greater depressive symptoms. Study 2 extended this finding to perceptions of belonging in memorable social interactions, finding a stronger link between belonging and well-being among people with greater depressive symptoms. Together these studies provide the first indication that depressive symptoms may sensitize people to everyday experiences of both social rejection and social acceptance.

[1]  T. Kashdan,et al.  Being good by doing good: Daily eudaimonic activity and well-being , 2008 .

[2]  W. Swann,et al.  Allure of negative feedback: self-verification strivings among depressed persons. , 1992, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[3]  J. Prisciandaro,et al.  A taxometric investigation of unipolar depression in the national comorbidity survey. , 2005, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[4]  N. Allen,et al.  The social risk hypothesis of depressed mood: evolutionary, psychosocial, and neurobiological perspectives. , 2003, Psychological bulletin.

[5]  C. Ryff.  Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. , 1989 .

[6]  Thomas E. Joiner,et al.  The Interactional Nature of Depression , 2000, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[7]  Jeffrey B. Henriques,et al.  Left frontal hypoactivation in depression. , 1991, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[8]  Jeffrey B. Henriques,et al.  Regional brain electrical asymmetries discriminate between previously depressed and healthy control subjects. , 1990, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[9]  E. Diener,et al.  Subjective well-being. The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[10]  I. Gotlib.  Interpersonal and Cognitive Aspects of Depression , 1992 .

[11]  Ulrich Schimmack,et al.  Affect Intensity : Separating Intensity and Frequency in Repeatedly Measured Affect , 1997 .

[12]  R. Baumeister,et al.  The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. , 1995, Psychological bulletin.

[13]  John C. Markowitz,et al.  Treatment and Prevention of Depression , 2002, Psychological science in the public interest : a journal of the American Psychological Society.

[14]  J. Berkhof,et al.  Effects of daily events on mood states in major depressive disorder. , 2003, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[15]  Shelly L. Gable,et al.  Level and instability of day-to-day psychological well-being and risk for depression. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[16]  John B. Nezlek,et al.  PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Nezlek, Gable / DAILY EVENTS AND DAILY ADJUSTMENT Depression as a Moderator of Relationships Between Positive Daily Events and Day-to-Day Psychological Adjustment , 2001 .

[17]  The social competition theory of depression : Gaining from an evolutionary approach to losing , 2007 .

[18]  J. Hokanson,et al.  A comparison of self-esteem lability and low trait self-esteem as vulnerability factors for depression. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[19]  K. Kronmüller,et al.  A comparative study of nonspecific depressive symptoms and minor depression regarding functional impairment and associated characteristics in primary care. , 2006, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[20]  J. Nezlek,et al.  Depression and everyday social interaction. , 1994, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[21]  Toru Sato,et al.  Sociotropy–autonomy and interpersonal problems , 2007, Depression and anxiety.

[22]  Kristi Williams,et al.  Depression and the Psychological Benefits of Entering Marriage∗ , 2007, Journal of health and social behavior.

[23]  E. Deci,et al.  The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior , 2000 .

[24]  P. Cuijpers,et al.  Psychological treatments of subthreshold depression: a meta‐analytic review , 2007, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[25]  Shigehiro Oishi,et al.  The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the Presence of and Search for Meaning in Life , 2006 .

[26]  M. Csíkszentmihályi,et al.  Positive psychology. An introduction. , 2000, The American psychologist.

[27]  M. Strauss,et al.  Diminished response to pleasant stimuli by depressed women. , 2001, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[28]  Sheri L. Johnson,et al.  Coherence and specificity of information-processing biases in depression and social phobia. , 2004, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[29]  T. Kashdan,et al.  PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article Expanding the Topography of Social Anxiety An Experience-Sampling Assessment of Positive Emotions, Positive Events, and Emotion Suppression , 2022 .

[30]  D. Ford,et al.  Minor depression as a predictor of the first onset of major depressive disorder over a 15‐year follow‐up , 2006, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[31]  P. Gilbert.  Evolution and depression: issues and implications , 2005, Psychological Medicine.

[32]  Lisa Feldman Barrett,et al.  The interpersonal process model of intimacy in marriage: a daily-diary and multilevel modeling approach. , 2005, Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

[33]  I. Gotlib,et al.  Attentional biases for negative interpersonal stimuli in clinical depression. , 2004, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[34]  L. Abramson,et al.  Positive life events, attributional style, and hopefulness: testing a model of recovery from depression. , 1990, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[35]  J. Coyne.  Depression and the response of others. , 1976, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[36]  J. Rottenberg.  Mood and Emotion in Major Depression , 2005 .

[37]  Nick Haslam,et al.  Relational Models Theory : A Contemporary Overview , 2004 .

[38]  Mark R. Leary,et al.  Responses to Social Exclusion: Social Anxiety, Jealousy, Loneliness, Depression, and Low Self-Esteem , 1990 .

[39]  T. Kashdan,et al.  Understanding the search for meaning in life: personality, cognitive style, and the dynamic between seeking and experiencing meaning. , 2008, Journal of personality.

[40]  S. Kéri,et al.  Major depressive disorder, serotonin transporter, and personality traits: why patients use suboptimal decision-making strategies? , 2007, Journal of affective disorders.

[41]  R A Williams,et al.  Sense of belonging and indicators of social and psychological functioning. , 1996, Archives of psychiatric nursing.

[42]  J. Nezlek,et al.  Clinical depression and day-to-day social interaction in a community sample. , 2000, Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

[43]  Shelly L. Gable,et al.  Now and then, them and us, this and that: Studying relationships across time, partner, context, and person , 1999 .

[44]  S. Lyubomirsky,et al.  The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success? , 2005, Psychological bulletin.

[45]  Shelly L. Gable,et al.  What do you do when things go right? The intrapersonal and interpersonal benefits of sharing positive events. , 2004, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[46]  Thomas E. Joiner,et al.  Contagion of Depressive Symptoms and Mood: Meta-analytic Review and Explanations From Cognitive, Behavioral, and Interpersonal Viewpoints , 2006 .

[47]  H. Reis,et al.  Intimacy as an interpersonal process. , 1988 .

[48]  Yuk Fai Cheong,et al.  HLM 6: Hierarchical Linear and Nonlinear Modeling , 2000 .

[49]  R. de Graaf,et al.  A prospective study of the transition rates of subthreshold (hypo)mania and depression in the general population , 2006, Psychological Medicine.

[50]  Abby D. Adler,et al.  Cognitive Therapy of Depression , 1979 .

[51]  C. Lejuez,et al.  Contemporary behavioral activation treatments for depression: procedures, principles, and progress. , 2003, Clinical psychology review.

[52]  Anthony S. Bryk,et al.  Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods , 1992 .

[53]  P. Gilbert.  The evolution of social attractiveness and its role in shame, humiliation, guilt and therapy. , 1997, The British journal of medical psychology.

[54]  P. Gilbert.  Depression: The Evolution of Powerlessness , 1992 .

[55]  Karin Mogg,et al.  Attentional Bias in Generalized Anxiety Disorder Versus Depressive Disorder , 2005, Cognitive Therapy and Research.

[56]  L. Abramson,et al.  Negative reactions to depressive behaviors: a communication theories analysis. , 1994, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[57]  Jeffrey B. Henriques,et al.  Decreased responsiveness to reward in depression , 2000 .

[58]  S. Monroe,et al.  A multidimensional model of self-esteem in depression , 1994 .

[59]  A. Beck,et al.  The empirical status of cognitive-behavioral therapy: a review of meta-analyses. , 2006, Clinical psychology review.

[60]  J. Ruscio,et al.  The latent structure of analogue depression: should the Beck Depression Inventory be used to classify groups? , 2002, Psychological assessment.

[61]  J. Coyne,et al.  Toward an interactional description of depression. , 1976, Psychiatry.

[62]  R. Larsen,et al.  The Satisfaction with Life Scale , 1985, Journal of personality assessment.

[63]  C. Sherbourne,et al.  Subthreshold depression and depressive disorder: clinical characteristics of general medical and mental health specialty outpatients. , 1994, The American journal of psychiatry.

[64]  Bruce W. Smith,et al.  Depression and Reactivity to Stress in Older Women With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis , 2001, Psychosomatic medicine.

[65]  A. Beautrais,et al.  Subthreshold depression in adolescence and mental health outcomes in adulthood. , 2005, Archives of general psychiatry.

[66]  K. Gunthert,et al.  Affective Reactivity to Daily Interpersonal Stressors as a Prospective Predictor of Depressive Symptoms , 2004 .

[67]  Christopher G. Davis,et al.  "Thanks for sharing that": ruminators and their social support networks. , 1999, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[68]  I. Gotlib,et al.  Psychosocial functioning and depression: distinguishing among antecedents, concomitants, and consequences. , 1988, Psychological bulletin.

[69]  M. Kovács.  Cognitive therapy in depression. , 1980, The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis.

[70]  J. Gross,et al.  Sadness and amusement reactivity differentially predict concurrent and prospective functioning in major depressive disorder. , 2002, Emotion.